11 companies lost money 10 quarters in a row

Sears (SHLD) is getting attention — in a bad way — for reporting its ninth quarterly net loss in a row. That’s quite a losing streak not many companies can rival.

There are only 11 companies in the broad Russell 1000 index — including online messaging service Twitter (TWTR), network operator FireEye (FEYE) and natural gas firm Cheniere Energy (LNG) — that have posted net losses in all 10 of the past 10 quarters, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ.

It’s funny. Sears is turning into one of the most hated stocks because it can’t seem to stop losing money. But Twitter is celebrated even as it bleeds red ink for an even longer period of time. The difference, though, is the trajectory and expectations for the future.

Sears on Thursday announced an adjusted quarterly loss of $2.87, which was even greater than the $2.63 loss expected by analysts, says S&P Capital IQ. And the losses are expected to continue as far as the eye can see. Analysts see the retailer losing $6.60 a share this year and then each and every year until at least 2019. Shares of Sears are down $2.26, or 6%, to $33.69 Thursday. And it’s not just today. Sears has been a bad place for investors to be for years now. Sears is down 35% over the past three years, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 is up 72%.

Chart source: MSN Money

It’s a less scary situation over at Twitter, even though it has lost money for a longer period than Sears has. First of all, while Twitter loses money on a net basis, much of the reason for the red ink has to do with charges connected with the IPO, including those linked with stock options exercises. Including all those “extraordinary” costs, for instance, Twitter lost 24 cents a share in the second quarter. Twitter has been struggling from its first day closing price of $44.90 last November.

Chart source: MSN Money

But here’s where things get more interesting. Excluding those costs, and looking at Twitter’s earnings on an adjusted basis, the company made 2 cents a share, topping expectations in the second quarter. And analysts see Twitter turning a profit on an adjusted basis in 2014 and on a non-adjusted basis in 2017. That’s a far way away, true, but at least the bottom line is moving in the right direction. And that seems to be making investors much happier over the past three months, as shares of Twitter are up 42%, blowing away the S&P 500’s 5.6% gain during that time.

Chart source: MSN Money

Below are the 11 stocks in the Russell 1000 index that have lost money on a net basis each and every of the past 10 calendar quarters: